I don’t own a PlayStation, so the PlayStation Network being down since April 20 doesn’t impact me. But it is making life suck for a huge number of other people. There are 77 million PlayStation Network registered accounts. And it has been confirmed by Sony that the multiplayer-gaming network was hacked. The company also confirmed that user data had been illegally obtained. This is a huge blow for Sony. I’m not saying disaster yet because because PlayStation gamers are invested in that system, so it would be costly for them to switch to another system. But everyday the network is down, some small fraction will jump. If users start to find their personal data are being illegally used, that will be a PR back-breaker. Sony is already being sued and subjected to regulatory inquiries. Sony is a quality company. I’d really hate to see it go down in flames. The best read on the situation is from Kevin Poulsen of Wired. He went to federal prison for hacking. He knows what he is talking about. Here are the highlights of his take on the situation: More